Youth can cast a long shadow. Take Chris Leba, who first came to New York in 1987: In a way, that’s still the beating heart of his cult label R13. The ’80s, of course, were a heady time for fashion, and many of its lasting touchstones—the punk movement, Vivienne Westwood, Comme des Garçons’s Rei Kawakubo and, later, the work of Hedi Slimane and Leba’s 20-year stint designing at Ralph Lauren—still have a strong influence on his work.
“You absorb all these things over the years,” said Leba. “And when it’s time for you to do something… it’s not conscious, but it becomes a blend.” For resort, he added the Gallic allure of the gamine Françoise Hardy to the mix. It was there in the mariner striped T-shirts and knits, the louche military coats, and the skinny, high-waisted jeans. The dominant silhouette had a strictness bumping up against a certain insouciance. On closer inspection, Leba added a raw, rebellious touch—shirts were cut and patchworked into geometric angles, knits shredded and left with their hems unfinished, and the looks were styled with chunky boots or pointy, hardware-adorned loafers. Leather jackets of varying styles topped many of the looks, some with strong ’80s padded shoulders and others cut cropped, classic, and close to the body. “I like how classic these things are,” he said. “But then you fuck it up.”
A second part of the collection had a more punk emphasis, with a surfeit of tartans throughout, including more patchwork assembled in grunge-y shift dresses, roomy, bleach-splattered shirts, drop-crotch trousers (that Comme energy) and raw-edged pleated kilts. For an unexpected feminine touch, some plaids were but a mere whisper on sheer organza cocoon tops and skirts. T-shirts, meanwhile, had constellations of laser-cut holes, and a sporty element came across in motocross pants made in jersey, leather, and cotton. “We play with a lot of proportion and shape,” Leba noted. “But try to maintain that edginess and balance with an elevated, grown-up look.”
As usual, the neat trick with R13 was that despite their rebellious spirit, the garments were all made from fine Italian and Japanese fabrics. And while the word craftsmanship evokes ideas of hand-stitched couture or tailoring, Leba applies it to rock ’n’ roll effect: the laser-cut holes, studding, bleaching, and other treatments impart a punk imperiousness. “Fashion is a form of entertainment,” he said. “It’s always things that are very wearable, but still fun and dramatic.”
